Born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2000, Giorgi took his first piano lessons without ever thinking about becoming a professional pianist. Passionate about singing and arranging Georgian folk and pop songs, he successfully competed in various Georgian singing contests at the age of 12. He did however continue his formal musical training at the Paliashvili Central Music School for Gifted Children and at the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, under the guidance of Revaz Tavadze.

Everyone has an idol, and for Giorgi it has always been Martha Argerich. His pianistic career’s turning point came about in April 2019 when he won the 1st Prize at the Vigo International Piano Competition, where Martha Argerich chaired the jury with Nelson Freire at her side. Some months later Giorgi also won the Third Prize and the Audience Prize at the 62nd Busoni International Piano Competition.

The outbreak of the Covid19 pandemic obliged him to remain in Georgia, where he began to write electronic music and songs which have become extremely popular.

2021, on the other hand, offered a fresh stimulus for Giorgi’s other calling, the classical piano: the Hortense Anda-Bührle Bursary, awarded to him at the 15th Géza Anda Piano Competition in Zurich, brought him an invitation to the KlavierOlymp in the German town of Bad Kissingen, where he won the 1st Prize as well as the Audience Prize. At the same time, he joined Nelson Goerner’s class at the Geneva University of Music.

Giorgi is supported by Martha Argerich for his studies in Geneva, by the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation and the Géza Anda-Foundation.

Piano

Giorgi Gigashvili

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, pianist Giorgi Gigashvili joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for the 2022-23 season.

Born in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2000, Giorgi took his first piano lessons without ever thinking about becoming a professional pianist. Passionate about singing and arranging Georgian folk and pop songs, he successfully competed in various Georgian singing contests at the age of 12. As a classical pianist, he won the 1st Prize at the Vigo International Piano Competition in 2019,  the Third Prize and the Audience Prize at the 62nd Busoni International Piano Competition, and most recently won 2nd prize at the 17th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition.

Giorgi Gigashvili | Liszt, Piano Sonata in B minor, S 178

Classeek Showroom performance, April 2023

Giorgi Gigashvili | Scarlatti, Sonata in D Major K29

Giorgi Gigashvili | Albéniz, Malagueña (encore)

Malagueña

Giorgi Gigashvili | Scarlatti, Sonata in C Major K874

Giorgi Gigashvili | Brahms, Three Intermezzi, Op. 117

In partnership with the Conservatoire de Lausanne, Classeek is proud to present this preconcert series, performed by students of the conservatoire. 

Preconcert | Yakov Monin

French Suite No. 5 in G major BWV 816 (Gavotte, Gigue)

Prélude, Op. 18

Etude, Op.24 No. 2

in partnership with the Conservatoire de Lausanne

Bilal Alnemr was born in Damascus in 1996. He discovered the violin thanks to a small toy violin given to him by his father and he continued to learn alone using only a DVD. Bilal won the Syrian national violin competition in 2007 and the Solhi Alwadi competition, and has since given concerts across India, Russia, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon. Following his participation in the Mediterranean cultural exchange ECUME, he joined the conservatory of Aix-en-Provence in the class of Sophie Baduel and moved to Paris in 2012 to study with Suzanne Gessner at the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Paris.  Four years later, he graduated from the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) where he studied with Roland Daugareil and Olivier Charlier. He then joined the Barenboïm-Saïd Academy in Berlin to perfect his skills with Michael & Daniel Barenboïm. 

Bilal recently made his debut with the ORF Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien, under the direction of Thomas Zehetmair. Since the age of sixteen, his professional career has brought many successful collaborations, including performances alongside Renaud Capuçon, Hélène Grimaud, Barbara Hendricks and Daniel Barenboim. A special place in his repertoire goes to concertos for violin and orchestra. He is also very interested and curious to learn from the modern and contemporary repertoire, often performing programmes including works such as Anthème I and II by Pierre Boulez, as well as Sequenza by Luciano Berio. As an orchestral and chamber musician, Bilal Alnemr regularly plays in the Boulez Ensemble of Berlin and in the West-Eastern Divan Ensemble. Furthermore, Bilal has been a member of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra since 2018.

In July 2022, he created Les Rencontres Musicales de Vauvenargues, a musical festival aimed at thanking this Provençal village for having welcomed his family fleeing the war in Syria. Bilal also co-founded UGARIT, a non-profit association aimed at developing cultural exchanges in the field of music, between Syria, France and the rest of the world.

Bilal Alnemr plays a 1774 Lorenzo Carcassi violin generously lent by Michael Barenboim.

Violin

Bilal Alnemr

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, violinist Bilal Alnemr joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for the 2022-23 season.

Bilal was born in Damascus and at the age of eight, he began to study violin at the Solhi-AL-WADI Conservatory. In 2007, he won the first prize in the national competition for young Syrian talents. His mentor Sonia Simmenauer says, “I was stricken when I met with Bilal the first time and his seriousness about being a musician. I admire his courage and dedication to music.”

Bilal Alnemr & Giuseppe Mentuccia | Manuel de Falla, Danse Espagnole (encore)

Danse Espagnole

Classeek Showroom performance, March 2023

Bilal Alnemr & Giuseppe Mentuccia | Fauré, Sonata No.1 in A major

 Sonata No.1 in A major

Bilal Alnemr & Giuseppe Mentuccia | Schumann, Sonata in A minor, Op. 105

Sonata in A minor, Op. 105

Bilal Alnemr & Giuseppe Mentuccia | Solhi al Wadi, Violin Sonata No.2

Violin Sonata No.2

In collaboration with NashaGazeta.ch & NS Connections, Classeek is proud to present this preconcert series, performed by promising young students. 

Preconcert | Darri Krasylych

Sonata No .8 in C minor, Op. 13 ‘Pathétique’ (Mvt I)

Romeo and Juliet Op. 75, No. 8, ‘Mercutio’

La guerre froide

In collaboration with NashaGazeta.ch & NS Connections

Pianist Julia Hamos combines her American and Hungarian roots with an adventurous spirit to explore the essence of repertoire ranging from Bach to composers living today. Instinctive artistic expression, a forward-thinking attitude, a joyful physical flexibility at the instrument, and an unyielding fascination with the music she plays makes her an artist to watch. 

Julia is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London with Christopher Elton and the Mannes College of Music in New York with Richard Goode, and currently studies with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy. She worked with Daniel Barenboim in a series of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven, and delved into György Kurtág’s 8 Pieces, Op. 3 together with the composer at the Budapest Music Center. 

Winner of the Sterndale Bennett Prize for romantic music at the Royal Academy, the Fidelman Prize for contemporary music from the Mannes School of Music, and the Grand Prix of the International Virtuoso Competition in New York City, Julia is in international demand as a soloist and chamber musician. She performs at the Pierre Boulez Saal and Konzerthaus, Berlin, the Wigmore Hall, London, in New York at Lincoln Center, 92nd St. Y and Carnegie Hall, the Liszt Academy in Budapest, as part of the Verbier Festival Academy, at the Prussia Cove festival in Cornwall, and at the Krzyzowa Festival in Kreisau, Poland. 

Recent notable performances are with Christian Tetzlaff and Tabea Zimmermann at Kronberg Academy’s Chamber Music Connects the World and performing the Ligeti Concerto at the Spoleto Festival USA and at the Trasimeno Music Festival in Italy. From 2017-2019 she taught at the 92nd Street Y School of Music in New York. She also gains new insights from working closely with other art fields, resulting in collaborations with the Martha Graham Dance Company, the New English Ballet Theatre and the New School’s Drama Division. 

She will appear in the Building Bridges series of concerts throughout Europe in 2022/23 (at the invitation of Sir András Schiff) in addition to performing at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, in King’s Place, London, at the new Casals Forum in Kronberg, with the National Radio Orchestra of Poland in Wroclaw, and in the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam.  In the summer of 2023 she will record Mozart’s Concerto for three pianos with the Camerata Schweiz conducted by Howard Griffiths under the Alpha Classics label. She currently serves as the assistant to the musicology program at the Barenboim-Said Akademie and is also in the process of recording her first solo CD. 

Julia Hamos

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, in connecting with his Building Bridges series, pianist Julia Hamos joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for the 2022-23 season.

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Hamos also studied with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy. In 2021 she also worked with Daniel Barenboim in a succession of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven's solo piano and string sonatas.

Julia Hamos | Bartók, Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos

Six Dances in Bulgarian Rhythm from Mikrokosmos

Classeek Showroom performance, December 2022

Julia Hamos | Bach, French Suite No. 4

French Suite No. 4

Born in 2002 in South Korea, Jeein You began playing cello at the age of five. Between 2009-2016 she studied with Myung-wha Chung at Korea National University of Arts Preschool and the Korea Institute for Gifted in Arts, at the age of 13, gained a place at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris in the class of Michel Strauss, obtaining her Bachelors and Masters degree. She has engaged in masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, Song-young Hun, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and many others. 

Jeein was selected as a laureate for Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle at the Louis Vuitton Foundation during seasons 2019-2022, and in the 2022-23 season will also partake in the recently launched Fondation Gautier Capuçon. 

This season, Jeein will perform in recital at the Seoul Arts Center in IBK Hall, as well as on tour throughout Europe (including Konzerthaus Vienna, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, Salle Métropole Lausanne and Victoria Hall Geneva) with Gautier Capuçon and ensemble Capucelli. In 2021 the ensemble of eight cellists recorded works to be released on Gautier’s upcoming album ‘Sensations’. Later this season Jeein will also perform at Classeek’s concert hall in Switzerland, as part of their Ambassador Programme concert season for emerging young artists. 

Championing many acclaimed competitions, Jeein has won several first and special prizes including the International Dotzauer competition for Young Cellists in Dresden, Germany (First prize and special prize), 23rd International Cello Competition in Heran, Czech Republic (First prize and grand prize), and the 11th OSAKA International Music Competition (First prize). Furthermore, she won both the first prize and contemporary music prize at the 10th International Competition for Young Musicians in Tallinn, Estonia, which was followed by a winners performance of Haydn’s Cello Concerto in C with the Tallinn Philharmonic Orchestra. 

As a soloist, Jeein has performed concerti with the Philharmonia Korea Orchestra, Guro Arts Valley Orchestra, Gunpo Philharmonic Orchestra, Wonju Philharmonic Orchestra, Tallinn Philharmonic Orchestra, Kaunas Philharmonic Orchestra, amongst others. In recital, she has also performed in many established concert series and venues throughout Europe and Asia. 

Cello

Jeein You

Jeein joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for season 2022-23, following her nomination by Gautier Capuçon. 

Jeein You was born in South Korea in 2002 and began studying cello at five. When she was seven she joined the Korea National University Of Arts Preschool under her tutor Chung Myung-Wha. Her ambassador Capuçon says, “Jeein is such a talented cellist and a very sensitive musician with an incredible ability to carry her emotions through music."

Jeein You & Samuel Parent | Bizet, Carmen Fantasy

Carmen Fantasy (arr. Buxton Orr)

Jeein You & Samuel Parent | O Holy Night (encore)

O Holy Night

Jeein You & Samuel Parent | De Falla, Danza Española No.1 from “La vida breve”

Danza Española No.1 from “La vida breve”

Jeein You & Samuel Parent | Rachmaninov, Sonata in G minor, Op.19

Sonata in G minor, Op.19

Jeein joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for season 2022-23, following her nomination by Gautier Capuçon. Jeein You was born in South Korea in 2002 and began studying cello at five. When she was seven she joined the Korea National University Of Arts Preschool under her tutor Chung Myung-Wha. Her ambassador Capuçon says, “Jeein is such a talented cellist and a very sensitive musician with an incredible ability to carry her emotions through music."

Jeein You & Samuel Parent | Granados, Intermezzo from 'Goyescas' (arr. G. Cassadó)

Intermezzo from 'Goyescas' (arr. G. Cassadó)

In partnership with the Conservatoire de Lausanne, Classeek is proud to present this preconcert series, performed by the students of the conservatoire. 

Preconcert | Clara Schlotz

Cesar Franck, Cello Sonata (Mvt I & II)

Paul Zientara began studying the viola at the age of seven at the Music school of Yerres in Yves Pruvot's class. In 2015, he joined the CRR (Regional Conservatory) of Paris studying with Françoise Gnéri, before continuing his studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with teachers Sabine Toutain and Christophe Gaugué. 

Paul regularly participates in various international academies and masterclasses including the Kronberg Academy Festival and the Anton Rubinstein Academy in Düsseldorf. He had the opportunity to improve his skills with masters such as Tabea Zimmermann, Gérard Caussé, Tatjana Masurenko, Bruno Pasquier, Nils Mönkemeyer, Claire Désert, the Ebene Quartet and Laurent Korcia. In addition, he received a scholarship from the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and took part in the academy's intensive weeks and activities. 

Paul has won several prizes at international competitions, including the 3rd prize at the prestigious “Lionel Tertis Competition” (Isle of Man), Grand Prix at the Safran Foundation, 1st prize at the “Concours de Cordes d 'Epernay” and 3rd prize of the “Autumn Musical Festival of Young Performers”, which paved the way to performances as a soloist with several orchestras under the direction of Nicolas Simon, Philippe Barbey-Lallia, Nicolas Krauze, Roman Dumas and Martin Lebel. 

At the age of just 16, Paul performed Bartók's Concerto with the Pasdeloup Orchestra, and has since performed as a soloist with the Republican Guard Orchestra, Column Orchestra, New Europe, Pocket Symphony and the COGE. 

Furthermore, he is passionate about chamber music, and has shared the stage with artists such as Valeriy Sokolov, François Salque, Pierre Fouchenneret, Jérôme Pernoo, Marc Coppey, Adam Laloum, Emmanuel Strosser, Adrien Boisseau, Liya Petrova, Adrien La Marca, Jérôme Ducros, Jérémy Menuhin, Victor Julien-Laferrière and Nicolas Baldeyrou, and many others. 

Viola

Paul Zientara

Nominated by Renaud Capuçon, violist Paul Zientara  joins the Classeek Ambassador Programme for the 2022-23 season.

22-year-old Paul Zientara began studying the viola at the age of seven at the Music school of Yerres in Yves Pruvot's class. In 2015, he joined the CRR (Regional Conservatory) of Paris in Françoise Gnéri's class. He regularly participates in international academies and masterclasses including the Kronberg Academy Festival.

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